In summary
Ricoh’s neat little Caplio GX8 is based on the 5-megapixel Caplio GX model and sports the same 3x optical zoom lens. With its 8-megapixel sensor, flash hot shoe and suite of manual controls, it’s targeted more at the quality-conscious intermediate photographer than the novice and it comes with a classy suede-like carrying pouch. . . [more]
Full review
Quality rating (out of 10) Build: 9.0Ease of use: 8.5Image quality: 8.5Value for money: 9.0
Ricoh’s neat little Caplio GX8 is based on the 5-megapixel Caplio GX model (reviewed in issue 18) and sports the same 3x optical zoom lens. With its 8-megapixel sensor, flash hot shoe and suite of manual controls, it’s targeted more at the quality-conscious intermediate photographer than the novice, and it comes with a classy suede-like carrying pouch.
Although structurally similar to the Caplio GX it has a faster USB 2.0 interface. However both cameras provide the same suite of shooting modes. As well as an auto setting, there are six Scene pre-sets and an A/M setting that lets users access the aperture priority and manual modes. Only three aperture settings are provided, f2.5, f4.7 and f8.1 for the wide setting and f4.3, f8 and f14 for tele. In contrast, 39 shutter speeds can be selected in manual mode, ranging from 1/2000 to 30 seconds.
The test camera was highly responsive, combining fast and accurate autofocusing with quick start-up and shut down times and minimal shutter release lag. (We measured an average of 0.2 seconds without pre-focusing and 0.1 seconds with.) However, JPEG compression remains fairly savage and image processing was slow, especially with the larger file sizes. With uncompressed TIFF files averaging over 15MB, it took almost 20 seconds per image.
Imaging performance was varied. Imatest showed colour accuracy to be generally good but both colour saturation and image contrast were slightly high. Exposures favoured shadow detail over highlights but resolution was above average and chromatic aberration was generally low. Edge-to-edge sharpness was good across the optical zoom range but digital zoom shots were slightly soft. Macro performance was impressive.
The flash required an ISO 200 or higher setting to illuminate an average-sized room. Low light performance was generally good, but noise was visible at ISO 400 and became progressively more obvious at higher settings. At ISO 1600 images have obvious noise but, fortunately, we found no stuck pixels. White balance performance was above average, with the manual measurement producing better colour accuracy than either the auto or manual settings. [24]
Specifications
Image sensor: 7.18 x 5.327 mm CCD with 8.5 million photosites (8.24 megapixels effective
Lens: 5.8-17.4mm f2.5-4.3 zoom lens (28-85mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical, up to 4x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 113.6 x 29.0 x 58.0mm (excluding projections)
Weight: 205g (without battery and card)
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.21), TIFF; Movies – Motion AVI with sound (QVGA and QQVGA at 30 fps)
Shutter speed range: 30, 15, 8, 4, 2 and 1-1/2000 seconds
Focus system/range: Auto, Manual, Fixed Focus (Snap), infinity (includes AF auxiliary light); range 0.3m to infinity; macro to 1 cm
Exposure metering/control: TTL-CCD photometric system with Multi (256 segments), Centre Weight and Spot metering; P, A and M plus 6 scene modes
White balance: Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, Fluorescent, One Push plus White Balance bracketing
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, Red-eye Reduction, On, Slow Synchro, Off; range 0.2-5.0 m.
ISO range: Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Sequence shooting: 3 high-resolution images at 0.5 second intervals
Storage Media: 26 MB internal plus SD/MMC card slot; internal memory holds 1 TIFF file, 8 high-resolution JPEGs or up to 280 VGA shots
Viewfinder: Real-image optical zoom
LCD monitor: 1.8 inch low temperature polysilicon TFT LCD (approx. 130,000 pixels)
Power supply: DB-43 rechargeable battery or 2x AA batteries
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